Saturday, March 17, 2012

The Artik 3 Race has some more raw feeling under it than the normal Artik 3.But that's fairly fine.
The Race lines also added some strong character to the Artik 3
especially in those small disorganized thermals ,it became a bit
energetic on its own by imposing its path and won't let the pilot
quickly put it where he wants, like the normal version. It is still very
agile in "homogenous" weak or strong thermal.

This week was very windy and rainy weather .We couldn't fly . Today I
just came from a soaring site near my house that i know very much.
The wind "down" at the beach was around + 30 km/h !! In this site i
have flown over the years many gliders in bad or windy weather and i
know it by heart .

I can confirm that the Race version loaded at top is the fastest at trim
i flew here ...I had the feeling i could soar with "nearly" a speed
wing .
This glider cuts and goes forward even in gusts !!!
I am pretty interested by the future comments of pilots flying the 25 Race version at + 94 all up.

When GRADIENT first released
the Aspen 4 ,with minimum line configuration ,my eyes opened wide, and I was
concerned about the stability and how they could manage that. The first Aspen 1
was fast, quite alive but it had a very nice crispy handling.

Now I have in my hands the
Aspen 4 to fly. Here’s what I found:

Launching this glider in nil
wind require a gentle but steady pull for the first 80 % .The Launching is a
non-event.

Immediately after take off
the feeling of security and comfort is present .It is like you are riding
exactly in a big smooth American car.

The Aspen 4 flown at 100 all
up in turbulent conditions showed a very homogenous character. Strangely, I
could see the risers moving, but I was not feeling strongly the roll movements
without being dull at all.

It is indeed a new sensation
for me!

It is like the carabineers
are working like shock absorbents, but actually it is the internal structure of
the wind that does all the hard work.

What streaked me also is that
when conditions were shaky and turbulent inside an inversion and when I was
finding it a bit hard to turn some agile gliders inside spaghetti thermals J, the Aspen 4 was still very maneuverable and could be
placed whenever I wanted regardless of the conditions.

It is one of the strongest
points of the Aspen 4!

After some glides with some
new “C’s”, I can confirm that the Aspen 4 is among the top performers.

To talk about pure
performance is always hard, but the Aspen 4 has a very usable one.

The accelerator is soft and
very easy to pull. Second bar has an impressive glide among the best, with a
high stability and friendly user.

I flew the glider in some
weak and strong thermals, next to some “C’s” to conclude that the glider is not
reluctant to any thermal. In fact it slide comfortably in, and climb without
delay.

Big ears are “BIG” because of
only two lines on the “A’s” Using the second bar with big ears is very
efficient with decent rates over -5m/s, depending on how much lines you pull.

Conclusion:

GRADIENT have now a new
hidden weapon inside those Aspens, with this efficient internal structure.

Pilots moving from high-end
“B’s” to the “C” category will immediately feel at home under the Aspen 4.

My opinion about that glider
is very positive because it has everything without the lacks of anything. As I
stated before, performance alone cannot make a good glider.

On board of the Aspen 4 a
pilot can have a very good glide, a very competitive climb, a superb handling, a
comfortable ride, with big ears as a very efficient descent method.

Follow by Email

Google+ Followers

This blog is totally free. Karma flights needs our help.Thank you !

Translate

Followers

GLIDE MEASUREMENTS ! NUMBERS and obsession !!! :-)

Looking at the glide numbers, is like seeing a beautiful food dish just before tasting it ....Knowing that all measurements are made in calm air(no thermals), and in those conditions we practicably "don't" fly.Thermal flying and transitions are made in moving air,and in those conditions a glider can change from its good performance on paper to less performance in real air and the opposite also.

Glider X that has a glide of 8.5 on paper, could reach the other side much higher than glider Y that have a glide of 9.0 on paper.Why? Because the ability of glider X in head wind glides and moving air is much better than glider Y in converting those bumps to lift and still moving forward ,rather than ,when hitting those lifts glider Y stops and dive loosing the glide.

Glide measurements are pure marketing ,but they still are interesting in putting some spices under the pilots nose ;-) .

Glides wingtip to wingtip in different conditions will show gliders ability much better.And that's why i do the videos.May be we should have a coefficient in efficiency rather than a poor "glide number" on paper. ;-)

BEST GLIDER

Comparisons are only to get an idea what the glider will be and feel like.Some like it soft on the brakes ,others find it too jumpy...But the best glider is the one that each individual pilot will have the most fun with.For some it could be the glider that out-climb or out-glide your club mates....But for most ,it is the one that will give you a smile and a satisfying happy feeling immediately after you land.That's the glider you must choose.So there is no best glider rather than best feeling for a glider.Fly SAFE,Ziad.